Care Experienced History Month
Care Experienced History Month (CEHM) takes place in April every year. It is a month dedicated to exploring the past of the care-experienced community and amplifying stories of those who have been in care.
As part of this historic event, the We Care Team are running a series of collaborations with local organisations and internal staff teams.
This will take place throughout April to raise awareness of the support available for Care Experienced students and Staff at UWS and from the wider community.
The UWS Library
For Care Experienced History Month, the UWS library has procured a variety of print and E-books that showcase the history of Care-experienced individuals, representing their life before, during, and after care. We are showcasing two titles below, while you can also access the full Care Experienced History Month Reading for Wellbeing list.
Trigger Warning: Please be mindful that the following books contain material of a sensitive nature.
Reading for wellbeing list
- Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It by Rebekah Pierre [eBook]
- My Name is Why by Lemn Sissey [eBook]
- Hackney Child by Hope Daniels [eBook]
- Young People Leaving Care: Supporting Pathways to Adulthood by Mike Stein [eBook]
- Brightness of Stars by - Lisa Cherry
- Looked After by Ashley John-Baptiste
What is a trigger warning?
Trigger warnings are notices that alert individuals to potentially distressing content or sensory stimuli that could evoke traumatic memories or intense physical or emotional reactions due to traumatic past experiences. Triggers may lead to a range of responses, from mild discomfort to severe panic attacks or dissociation. The primary role of a trigger warning is to provide a heads-up, allowing individuals, especially those with a history of trauma, to prepare themselves mentally or choose whether to engage with the content.
Free Loaves on Fridays
The first title, Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It was published by Rebekah Pierre in May 2024. This book is an anthology of stories, poems, reflections, and letters by nearly 100 care-experienced people, which aims to challenge stigma. This collection gives voice to diverse experiences, including foster care, adoption, kinship care, and semi-independent living, among others.
The brightness of stars
The second title, The Brightness of Stars: Stories from Care Experienced Adults to Inspire Change is by Lisa Cherry. The book brings together a collection of candid and personal reflections on the care system in the UK, offering alternative ways of thinking about the care experience, supporting better ways of working, and providing justification for a trauma-informed lens
A Chat with the we care team
The We Care Team has met with three external organisations: All of Us, Renfrewshire Council Promise Keepers, and Who Cares Scotland to chat about support available for care-experienced individuals, initiatives, local/online events, and free accessible resources.
The interviews are available in PDF format below.
All of us
Ira Hakim, Programme Manager, takes us through an extensive overview of support available for care-experienced individuals across the UK and highlights several cool initiatives and upcoming events to get involved with!
Read the All of us discussion - [PDF]
Keeping the Promise - Renfrewshire Council
Samantha Macrae, Promise Ambassador, updates us on the work the team has done to #KeepThePromise. We also chat about Health and Wellbeing resources and how implementation of the Language policy ensures that we are using positive and non-stigmatising language when talking about Care Experience.
Read the Keeping the Promise - Renfrewshire Council discussion - [PDF]
Who Cares Scotland
Sharon Berrie, Advocacy & Participation Manager, Southwest for Who Cares Scotland, updates us on the work the organisation is doing towards their Action for Advocacy Campaign, their Lifelong Helpline, and other support resources for care-experienced individuals. The UWS We Care Team works in partnership with Who Cares Scotland to access training opportunities and Welcome events such as West Fest, the September T1 welcome Festival for new and returning students.
The We Care Team
At UWS we have a dedicated WeCare team in place to support Care Experienced Students, Student Carers and Estranged Students from pre-application through to graduation. The WeCare team also acts as a key point of contact for students who are Asylum Seekers and Refugees and Military Veterans and their families.
UWS has been committed to supporting care-experienced students for many years, with the establishment of the UWS WeCare team in 2019/2020, which spans across student recruitment and the student success teams, we have collaborated across both pre-entry and through to graduation, to ensure that the support continues for the students throughout.
Our commitment to Care-Experienced Students
The University is committed to supporting care experienced students.
The Scottish Funding Council defines a care-experienced student as:
Anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after. This care may have been provided in one of many different settings such as in residential care, foster care, kinship care, or through being looked after at home with a supervision requirement.”
Read more about our commitment and read our corporate parenting plan
Care-experienced students are eligible for contextual offers, being guaranteed an offer of a place/interview if they meet the minimum entry requirements, which falls in line with all HEIs in Scotland's agreement in 2019.
We have also established the UWS Cares Working Group, which meets twice yearly to discuss support for care-experienced students, as well as student carers and estranged students. This is made up of staff across the university from Professional Services and Academic Schools and enables us to continue our commitment to care-experienced students on an ongoing basis.
We welcome new students & staff collaborators- the next meeting online via Teams on April 29th from 2-3:30 pm, and anyone who wants to attend should email the We Care Team.
If you have not heard of the We Care Team and would like to find out more before the working group meeting, we are offering an online drop-in session where you can chat to two of our team members, Stephanie and Chloe.
Last updated: 10/04/2025